This invention relates to an improved proximity sensor and more specifically a proximity sensor with an integrated semi-active laser seeker for weapon guidance.
Smart munitions have used a variety of technologies to aid in guiding to a target. These technologies included inertial guided, infrared guided, radar guided, image guided, laser guided, GPS guided, and various combinations of these technologies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,166 is an example of an infrared detector used to detect a target having a higher temperature than the background infrared radiation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,819 discloses a weapon system employing a bistatic radar guided transponder bomb and guidance method. U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,442 is an example of an impulse radar guidance system. U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,875 is an example of an image guided weapons system.
Laser guided patents include U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,944; U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,800, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,767. Laser guided systems can utilize either focused or unfocused sensor systems. The focused laser radiation sensor utilizes refracting and/or reflecting optical elements to focus incident laser radiation onto a sensor while the unfocused system utilizes a plurality of sensors (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,703 for example).
Global positioning system data (GPS) patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,709; U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,452; U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,009, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,496.
Inertial and GPS coordinate based systems have inherent registration, bias and drift errors and also cannot be easily used on moving targets. Therefore, GPS systems are beginning to be utilized in combination with other systems to improve target accuracy. For example, the GBU-24E/B bomb uses a GPS system in combination with a laser-guided system. Other guidance system combinations are being used in combination as well. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,703 uses optical energy, such as a laser designator in combination with a radio frequency (RF) system.
What is needed however is a way to combine several guidance systems inexpensively and so that the external profile of the weapon doesn't change.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.